Apparatus for storing fertilizers.



PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

M. JACKSON. APPARATUS FOR STORING FERTILIZERS.

APPLICATION FILED FEB. 29,1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

Jlfarz'on Jackson,

Wihwaaeo fi W AAA PATENTED MAY 2, 1905.

M. JACKSON.

APPARATUS FOR STORING PERTILIZERS.

APPLIGATION FILED FEB. 29.1904,

2 SEEETS-BHEBT 2.

(Mar

l'oil efacitso n,

Q/vihmoaea UNITED STATES Patented May 2, 1905.

MARION JACKSON, OF TIPPECANOE CITY, OHIO.

APPARATUS FOR STORING FERTILIZERS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 788,833, dated May 2, 1905.

Application filed February 29, 1904. Serial No. 195,736.

To all whom it ntay concern/r Be it known that I, MARION JACKSON, a citizen of the United States, residing at Tippecanoe City, in the county of Miami and State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Storage Devices for Fertilizers, of which the following is a specification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings.

This invention relates to storage devices for fertilizers,'and more particularly for farmyard manure; and it has for its object to provide an efficient means for the storage of such manure, specially adapted for storage in the open, and by which the manure may be kept drained and in proper condition and practi cally all of its constituent elements preserved.

To these and other ends my invention consists in certain novel features, which I will now proceed to describe and will then particularly point out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 is a perspective view of a structure embodying my invention in one form. Fig. 2 is a central longitudinal sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is a front elevation, and Figs. 4 and 5 are detail perspective views illustrating modifications;

In the said drawings, 1 indicates a platform or supporting-surface, preferably constructed of concrete or other similar artificial stone or cementitious composition. This platform is supported in any suitable man ner, and in practice I contemplate supporting it in a position somewhat raised above the level of the soil by means of a filling of earth underneath it or a mound on which it rests. This platform may be of any suitable size as to its surface dimensions say, for instance, forty feet long by twenty-live feet wideand its upper surface slopes downward from end to end,.an inclination of one foot for the length above given (forty feet) being suitable, although the angle of inclination may be raised. For convenience the higher end of this platform will be hereinafter designated the rear end and the lower end the front end. The surface also slopes from each lateral margin or edge downward toward the longitudinal central line of the platform, thus forming a central trough or gutter 2, extending with a downward inclination the entire length of the central portion of the platform. Above this trough or gutter there is located a strainer 3; preferably constructed of wire cloth or netting of a relatively large mesh or aperture arched or raised over the trough or gutter 2, so as to protect the same and prevent it from clogging, so as to present an unobstructed conduit or runway for the liquid which drains from the material supported on the platform. This strainer may be secured in position by having its ends embedded in the concrete while under construction, the ends being bent out, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, to more firmly anchor it in place.

The lower edge or discharge end of the platform is provided with a raised portion or rib 4, extending on each side of the gutter 2 from the strainer to the lateral edge of the platform and serving to prevent the escape of the liquid elsewhere than at the discharge end of the gutter 2.

Below the discharge end of the gutter 2 there is located a conduit 5, which is preferably constructed of the same material as and integral with the platform 1. It may be rectangular in cross-section, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, or V-shaped, as shown in Fig. 4, or U-shaped, as shown in Fig. 5, and the general direction of its inclination is preferably the same as that of the platform 1. It is provided with one or more transverse screens or strainers, and where more than one is em ployed they are progressively finer toward the discharge end of the conduit to insure a proper straining of the liquid without clogging the conduit. In the present instance I have shown two of these strainers,(indicated, respectively,

by the reference-numerals 6 and 7,) the former being the coarser, although preferably somewhat finer than the strainer 3, nearest which it lies, while the strainer 7 is of finer mesh to catch any material which may have passed the preceding strainers.

Below the discharge-mouth of the conduit 5 there is located a tilting trough or switchtrough 8, open at both ends and pivotally mounted between its ends on suitable supports 9. At each end of the tilting trough is located a storage-receptacle in the form of a tank or cistern, preferably sunk below the level of the soil. These receptacles are indicated by the reference-numerals 10 and 11, respectively, and are so located that the trough 8 discharges into one or the other, according to the position into which it is tilted. To cause the tilting trough to first fill one receptacle and then automatically switch the flow into the other receptacle, I employ a float 12, connected to one end of the trough 8 by a rod 13, the connection between the rod and trough being preferably a pivotal one, as shown. This float is located in one of the storagereceptaclesfor instance, the receptacle 10. When the receptacle 10 is empty or only partially filled, the weight of the float 12 and rod 13 tilts the trough 8, so that it discharges into the said receptacle 10, and as said receptacle fills the float rises until when the receptacle 10 is properly filled the trough 8 is so tilted as to discharge into receptacle 11, which is filled in its turn.

The operation of the structure will be apparent from the preceding description. The manure (indicated at 14) is placed upon the platform 1, and the liquid portion thereof drains through the strainer 3 into the gutter 2, from which it is discharged into the con duit 5. Here it is again strained to separate any non-liquid elements which may have entered the conduit 5 and is finally delivered for storage first to the receptacle 10 and then to the receptacle 11, the shifting being automatic.

Rain falling on the stored manure or water or the stored liquid applied thereto to moisten it will drain or return to the storage-receptacles or cisterns and may be drawn therefrom at will for use in any desired manner. The manure thus properly drained is kept in proper condition, while the drainage is preserved for use. The structure is durable and inexpensive.

I do not wish to be understood as limiting myself to the precise details of construction hereinbefore described, and shown in the accompanying drawings, as the same may obviously be modified without departing from the principle of my invention.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. In a storage structure of the character described, a storage-platform or supporting-- surface of cement or the like, inclined from end to end and composed of two convergentlyinclined portions forming a central inclined gutter, a strainer spanning said gutter'and substantially coextensive therewith both longitudinally and transversely, and a liquidstorage receptacle located at the discharge end of said platform, substantially as described.

2. In a storage structure of the character described, a storage-platform or supportingsurface of cement or the like, inclined from end to end and composed of two convergentlyinclined portions forming a central inclined gutter, said platform having a rib or raised portion at its discharge end through which the gutter extends, a strainer spanning said gutter and substantially coextensive therewith both longitudinally and transversely, and a liquid-storage receptacle located at the discharge end of said platform, substantially as described.

3. In a storage structure of the character described, a storage-platform or supportingsurface of cement or the like, inclined from end to end and composed of two convergentlyinclined portions forming a central inclined gutter, and a strainer of arched shape in section spanning said gutter, substantially coextensive therewith both longitudinally and transversely and having its lateral marginal portions embedded in the platform, substantially as described.

4:. In a storage structure of the character described, an inclined storage-platform composed of two convergently-inclined portions forming a central gutter, a strainer spanning said gutter, a conduit to receive the discharge of said gutter, said conduit being provided with a screen or strainer of finer mesh than the strainer of the platform, and a liquid-storage receptacle to receive the discharge of said conduit, substantially as described.

5. In a storage structure of the character described, an inclined storage-platform of cement or the like composed of two convergently-inclined portions forming a central gutter, a strainer spanning said gutter, a conduit to receive the discharge of said gutter, said conduit being provided with a plurality of screens or strainers of progressively-increasing fineness, and a liquid-storage receptacle to receive the discharge of said conduit, substantially as described.

6. In a storage structure of the character described, an inclined storage-platform of cement or the like composed of two conververgently-inclined portions forming a central gutter, a strainer spanning said gutter, aconduit to receive the discharge of said gutter and provided with means for straining the MARION J AOKSON.

Witnesses:

ELLIS H. KERR, PHOEBE S. RATCLIFF. 

